Extinguished
by phishtix
Summary: A young aspiring trainer finally accomplishes his dream of beating the Elite Four Champion, but for a terrible price. First ever fanfic. Lemme know what you think. :3


Rain poured down heavily on the wrecked battlefield. After the battle had ended and the winner proclaimed, a young man ran hastily to the center of the field towards his fallen Pokemon; his comrade; his friend. The losing opponent (the former Elite Four Champion) slipped away unnoticed knowing that the young man and the injured Pokemon might want some personal privacy. The massive charizard lay battered and abused on the muddy earth, lying on his belly with his dimly illuminated tale tucked slightly under his large extended wings. Scars, deep and bleeding profusely, covered the poor creature's entire body. Exhausted and holding onto his delicate string of life, the charizard somehow mustered the energy to lift his head so he could see the young man running towards him for what may most likely be the last time. Rain was fully soaking the young man's body and clothes. His facial expression showed deep concern while his eyes pleaded for a miracle to happen.

The young man was now facing the charizard and holding his head in his hands. He uttered words like "We'll get you to a Poke Center fast." and "Stay with me, ok?" and "Everything's going to be ok. I promise." The charizard already knew everything was going to be ok. He stared up at his long time friend with tender eyes and did not look away. Even when the young man held out a shaken hand holding a familiar pokeball, the charizard simply lifted his large clawed hand and lowered his master's hand down, not once leaving eye contact. He would not need that pokeball for much longer. Although the heavy rain was soaking his entire face and his black haired bangs were now long enough to cover most of his eyes, it was self-evident to the charizard that his brave and fearless master was on the verge of breaking down in tears at the sight of his broken friend. However he was not altogether broken after all. Regardless of what he looked on the outside, his body beaten and scarred, his muscles torn and pushed far past their limits, and his bones although some broken and shattered, his spirit was not. It still held strong and continued to grow stronger all up to his final breath regardless of the physical pain inflicted to him. He raised his head up proudly as the rain continued to hit his face and wash some amount of the blood away; cleaning his scars which now acted as his medals of honor and bravery. With one hand, the young man pulled away his bangs to meet his red pleading eyes with the charizard's. He did not want to admit it, but he knew what was to be the fate of his loyal companion. They both did. There was nothing left he could do but wrap his arms around the large creature's fallen body in a final embrace; caressing his neck as he spoke.

"You did it, buddy...We won!...We beat the Elite Four Champion!" He said in between stifled cries and sobs. The charizard rested his head on the young man's shoulders and smiled a victorious yet melancholy smile as tears formed and fell from his eyes as well at the sound of his master's light sobbing. "I couldn't have done it without you, buddy. You've been there for me all this time and now our dreams have been fulfilled!" the young man said rather weakly. There was a long silence that followed. The young man was trying desperately to find his voice to make his final speech of gratitude to his dying friend, but he felt like a lump had formed in his throat, choking him from uttering a word of remembrance. He swallowed hard and tried his best to subdue the urge of breaking down into loud sobs at least for a little longer. He had to be strong for his friend. Just like his friend had been strong for him.

"...Do you remember the first day we met? I had witnessed you hatch from an egg in Professor Oak's lab and you were still just a tiny charmander; barely taller than my knee. You were quite the clumsy one too. Always tripping on your own two feet or your tail..." the young man started to tell the tales of the charizard's most pleasant past. With his eyes closed, the gentle giant reminisced with his narrator on all of the wonderful memories he has collected throughout the years that now seemed to have gone as quickly as the breeze. "...and...and then when I thought I was done for, you popped out of your pokeball and lifted me up from that steep cliff...heh...I can't possibly count how many times I have to thank you again for saving my life..." the charizard was finding his final moments of comfort in listening to the familiarly sweet and tender words coming from the young man's voice; regardless of the fact it kept trembling and breaking. The lump that had formed in the young man's throat grew and felt no longer like a lump, but rather a boulder stubbornly anchored and getting bigger as the moment moved on; still ticking down the minutes until eternal slumber fell upon the giant creature. Not once had he not kept his eyes firmly planted on the dimly lit flame that burned on the charizard's tail. It was barely receiving shelter from the mighty beast's torn wings. That and the warm, heavy breathing that ran down his neck were the only signs of whether his companion was still awake or not. But the tail started to grow dimmer from the cold and the rain, and the breathing growing fainter. The charizard's time here was ticking down to the seconds.

"You were always there for me...Even now. You never give up. Not once...I don't know what I would do without you with me by my side anymore. Thank you...so much...for everything you've done for me." The tail's light was just a little bigger than a candle flame now. The boulder that sat in the young man's throat suddenly disappeared and the young man uttered his final words to his best friend clearly, strongly, and unbroken. "I love you." The tiny flame flickered and danced as if to give a message of comfort and mutual love and understanding; a voice to one voiceless yet resilient soul in the brink of parting from this treasured life. At that very moment, one of the many raindrops that still beat down on the two embracing friends happened to hit the tiny flame and extinguishing it for all eternity. The mighty dragon let out one last warm and heavy breath upon the young man before him and finally left the world fulfilled and happily in the embrace of his lifelong beloved caretaker and friend. The warmth and the powerful fire that burned from within the mighty creature disappeared after that last breath as if someone had opened a window to a room filled with hot air and let it escape into the careless cold breeze. The head and neck that the young man had held up for so long had suddenly gone limp in his arms and the weight even heavier on his shoulders, but the young man did not move an inch from his position. He continued to watch as the lingering smoke from the dragon's tail moved with the wind and flew up to the heavens that suddenly opened up to let in rays of sunshine to illuminate their place in the battlefield like a spotlight. A rainbow shown clear and promising in the sky. The rain ceased to pour down upon the battlefield and the clouds above started to clear to let in more rays from the sun to provide a new source of heat to make up for the lost one. But the clouds did not fully lift. No, for a new one had formed above the young man's head; one that was duller and grayer than the ones from the rain shower which encouraged more saltwater to fall from the young man's eyes, trickle down his cheek, until finally soaking his shirt even more than the rain could ever do.

"I miss you already." He whispered to the heavens as he looked up and let the tears continue to fall. A hole seemed to have formed in his heart and his own flame extinguished from within. It seemed the more time that passed that separated him from his friend the more the hole grew and the colder he felt.


End file.
